DeTomaso Mailing List: July 99, Message #351

John;

Buying P-car in "pieces" may seem  like an economical way to ascertain a
P-car,however one should seriously consider the challenge before jumping
in. If you have never owned or worked on  a P-car the project may be even
more overwhelming. First and formost to considering putting a P-car back
together is if all the parts are included ; engine(no real big deal), body
pannels and glass( big deal replacement pannel parts are costly but
available, a rear deck will set your bank account back 1.5 K for a carbon
fiber reproduction or 5K for a steel replacement),tranny(super big deal, ZF
trans cost between 3.5 to 7K and if the ZF is included and has been sitting
around for some time it may have to be serviced which will cost 1.5 to
3K),suspension pieces, brakes, wheels, half shafts, seats and interior
pieces, tail lens, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla and the nuts and bolt to put
every thing back together are available but will cost on average three to
four times the cost of say parts for a 70 vintage mustang. Secondly, one
should consider the amount of time it is going to take to put the cat back
together. Third, there is not a really good fully detailed shop manual to
follow for reanimation of a P-car pile and every car seems to have its own
idiosyncraticities and differences in construction and parts used. However,
this list is full of very knowlegable and helpful enthusiast that can
answer the simplest question with out making one feel incompetent to
researching the most challenging questions surrounding the automobile.
There are many other factors to consider these are just a few off the top
of my head. Give Mr Drew a call or E-mail him, he has the dubious honor of
reanimating a P-car that even Mary Shelly's fictional character Dr
Frankenstien would not have attempted.

 I personally would rather spend a few extra dollars to  buy good running,
mechanically sound car that has had the basic upgrades performed by the
previous owner(s) and personalize and upgrade it as time and funds will
allow all the time being able to enjoy driving the car and the people on
this list than have a headache from the begining, oh wait that is what I
did.

Paul "I need some milk for my lucky charms, which car should I drive to the
store,grin" Rimov

----------
> From: Zman114@aol.com
> To: Multiple recipients of list <detomaso@realbig.com>
> Subject: Just how hard is to build one of these beasts
> Date: Friday, July 09, 1999 4:44 AM
> 
> All:
> 
> Since Don i Miami is BITCHIN at me to buy a beast I have one last
question....
> 
> I know I have allocated enough cash to buy a street going version but the

> thought of restoring one and rebuilding it is striking a nerve....Again
Ken 
> Brown has one is pieces ....no rust....lowered floor pans for 8K ...I can

> ship it here to my house and over the winter put it together...just how
hard 
> is it????????????????
> 
> opening a can of worms
> Fire at will gentlemen
> Soon very very very soon
> John Z (home of the original black panther)
>